If you want to be successful, many experts and life-hackers say you should wake up at 6 am, take a cold shower, exercise, meditate, journal and brainstorm, review and set goals, read news and industry sites, consume inspiring content, eat a protein-rich breakfast

Whew. That’s a lot to accomplish before 8 am.

I’m not sure when the dogma of morning routines began to spread, but suddenly, these mile-long checklists are everywhere?—?especially in the startup world.

Routines can be great, but I think there’s a misplaced emphasis on morning.

Everyone has different peak hours. If you want to enhance your productivity, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, or if you go for a run at 6 am or 6 pm.

Experiments with canvas, a basic HTML5 element that is used to produce graphics of various kinds and scale on a web page, are gaining more and more popularity nowadays. It seems that web developers have pinned their faith in this technology, even despite the fact that it suffers from the lack of proper browser compatibility.

Intending to unlock various possibilities of this potent element the artists come up with pretty remarkable and occasionally unexpected results that strike the eye from the first seconds. One of such successful experiments that have found its practical application in website design is particles animation.

Using just the regular tools and, of course, a bit of magic of Javascript, primitive dots on the screen begin to move chaotically, bounce, dance, respond to gravity, form various shapes and even interact with users. What’s more with the help of the more powerful libraries like WebGL, Three.js or TweenMax they transform into real masterpieces that are able to grab the biggest piece of the attention pie in any interface.

If you take a look at elegant Deutser or top-notch Void, you will notice that they have one thing in common: all of them are enriched with particles-inspired centerpieces that take the user experience to the next level. They are representative examples of the stream. Aren’t they outstanding? The feature is in trend these days, so why not to get acquainted with a dozen of solutions available over at Codepen to learn from?

We have included different implementations to reflect the diversity of the direction. Explore them, and tell us which one is your favorite?

Remember all those personal portfolios that present an artist in a unique and eye-pleasing manner. Those that breathe with modernity and originality, instantly capture the attention and make you stay. Well, today we are going to replenish your toolkit with some excellent, fast and clean code snippets that spice up your personal portfolio with one of the integral elements of such projects: a dynamic and captivating timeline.

Actually, if you delve into any of these projects you will see that there is nothing supernatural or extraordinary. The majority has the same basic 4/5-page structure and standard information hierarchy (including bio, services, portfolio, and contacts). What does actually make a difference is an individual and creative approach to every section.

As a rule, it implies improving each integral part through some latest techniques and tricks in order to make it look interesting, captivating and even entertaining. Dynamic pie charts that demonstrate skills, fully illustrated contact forms, reinvented Google maps with extra features, animated scrollbars, responsive timelines are the most popular options. They greatly contribute to the general feeling as well as create a long-lasting first impression that is so vital in a struggle for potential customers.

The great thing is that with some basic knowledge of HTML/CSS/JS you can also transform any dull and primitive online portfolio into a masterpiece. You even don’t have to develop it from scratch; the web offers a ton of helpful things. If you want to show off your experience or potential in a visually-appealing manner, then you should take a look at the listed below simple yet viable solutions for populating your project with a timeline. We have included vertical timelines, horizontal timelines, responsive and even Bootstrap-powered timelines.

Every day, we’re sitting in front of the computer: thus, we’ll enjoy a nice wallpaper or a screensaver that welcomes us when we return from grabbing a coffee. We have collected fifteen screensavers, and a solid 25 creative wallpapers for you. Enjoy!

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” That is the motto of a photojournalist. It is their objective to produce direct, truthful and bold images that tell the stories for those who have no voice.

According to Mark M. Hancock, a professional photojournalist, “is a visual reporter of facts. The public places trust in its reporters, to tell the truth. The same trust is extended to photojournalists as visual reporters.This responsibility is paramount to a photojournalist. At all times, we have many thousands of people seeing through our eyes and expecting to see the truth. Most people immediately understand an image.”

Photojournalists are doing really a great job over the world for humanity, they are working for peace, for human rights, for raising humanity problems and issues, for pointing out the people living below the bottom line of poverty, for raising awareness about educational and child labor issues and much more… Our today’s post is about Inspirational Documentary and Photojournalism Photos. In this post, we showcase 35 powerful, touching and emotional photos that do not just display state of affairs but also tell a story.

We express sincere appreciation of the hard work of all photojournalists who are working for humanity, sometimes risking their lives for the sake of their duties and responsibilities. This article is a tribute to all of them and their accomplishments and works.

Photojournalism & Documentary Photos

Rwanda, June 1994. Hutu man mutilated by the Hutu ‘Interahamwe’ militia, who suspected him of sympathizing with the Tutsi rebels. About the image, Nachtwey says his specialty is dealing with ground level realities with a human dimension. He feels that people need photography to help them understand what’s going on in the world, and believes that pictures can have a great influence on shaping public opinion and mobilizing protest.

World Press Photo of the Year: 1994 James Nachtwey, USA, Magnum Photos for Time.

In this picture, Lurlena cries in the back of the family car after losing the contest for Carnival Princess at her school. She spent the day getting ready, with a new white dress and new shoes. The winner was decided based on whose parents bought the most tickets, and Lurlena’s family could only afford eight dollars worth.

Sally Mann

Tibetans believe, once in their life, a pilgrimage to Lhasa is of exalted purpose and moral significance. Therefore, we see people like this, especially in spring and autumn, on their journey of faith, sometimes thousands of miles long, kowtowing every few steps.

Even during the Arirang Mass Games in North Korea, the ultimate expression of the state ideology, an individual can still sometimes stand out from the crowd and break free of the collective. If only just for a moment. (Photo and caption by Brendyn Zachary)

“On my second day visiting the astounding Iguazu falls on the Brazilian side I was forced to change to my telephoto lens as my wide angle had been damaged by the water vapor. In had rained solidly for 10 days prior to my arrival and so the falls were at their most spectacular. Standing on the elevated viewing platform I was able to shoot this school group who stood transfixed, emphasizing the incredible size of the falls. (Photo and caption by Ian Kelsall)”

“I took the photo while on my one-month stint in Malawi Africa where I mainly worked in orphan day-care centres, also visiting Mulanji Hospital. The photo was taken from the Mulanji Hospital four-wheel-drive ambulance, travelling on the extremely rough roads from village to village, visiting the sick who were unable to reach the hospital.” Photo taken by Cameron Herweynen.

This picture of a five year-old gypsy boy was taken on New Year’s Eve 2006 in the gypsy community of St. Jacques, Perpignan, Southern France. For Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the men would gather in the Café in their best suits to drink and dance while their wives would prepare dinner at home. It is quite common in St. Jacques for little boys to smoke.

A woman holds her child, blackened by carbon dust. His nose bleeds due to infections caused by exposure to dust and pollution during play in the workshop in Korar Ghat by on the outskirts of Dhaka. Many women bring their children along so they can look after them while working.

Hhaing The Yu, 29, holds his face in his hand as rain falls on the decimated remains of his home in the Swhe Pyi Tha township, near Myanmar’s capital of Yangon (Rangoon), on Sunday, May 11th, 2008. Cyclone Nargis struck southern Myanmar a week ago leaving millions homeless and has claimed up to 100,000 lives.

Culture

A long line of visitors forms in front of Sandra Gil outside the Krome Detention Center in Miami where her husband, Oscar Gonzalez, is being held. On the morning of November 8, Immigration and Customs Enforecment (ICE) officers arrested the family at their home. They detained Gonzalez and released Gil with her son, American born Joshua Gonzalez, 5, with orders to leave for Colombia within weeks, The family was denied asylum after seven years living and working legally in teh country.

Sitting alone on a little place surrounded by cars traffic. Self-isolation. Waiting for nothing. He talked to me for about an hour. Of a lost life. An ordinary life like mine, like many others. And now…

Swiss pilot Yves Rossy, the world’s first man to fly with a jet-powered fixed-wing apparatus strapped to his back, flies during his first official demonstration, on May 14, 2008 above Bex, Switzerland. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

Final construction at the Maponya mall in Piville township, Soweto. The 650 million Rand mall is one of the largest shopping centers in South Africa, and its opening is a sign of the commercial awakening of Soweto.

Child labor is not a new issue in Bangladesh as children here remain one of the most vulnerable groups living under threats of hunger, illiteracy, displacement, exploitation, trafficking, physical and mental abuse. Although the issue of child labor has always been discussed, there is hardly any remarkable progress even in terms of mitigation. 17.5 percent of children aged 5-15 are engaged in economic activities. Many of these children are engaged in various hazardous occupations in factories.

This image was taken about one month after the earthquake in Pakistan. People were still coming down from the mountains trying to find shelter and were suffering from trauma. Winter was on the way and the need for shelter was urgent. This father with his child had been collecting food. I spent ten days in Balakot documenting the situation after the quake. People were still digging for their family members.

Kerby Brown rides a huge wave in an undisclosed location southwest of Western Australia July 6, 2008, in this picture released November 7, 2008 by the Oakley-Surfing Life Big Wave Awards in Sydney. Picture taken July 6. (REUTERS/Andrew Buckley)

The head of a male student, still alive, trapped under the debris is pictured at the scene of the church school that collapsed on the outskirts of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, November 7, 2008. At least 30 people were killed when the three-story La Promesse school building collapsed while class was in session and some of the walls and debris crushed neighboring homes in the Nerettes community near Port-au-Prince. (REUTERS/Joseph Guyler Delva)

Wells felt indignant that the same publication that sat on his picture for five months without publishing it, while people were dying, entered it into a competition. He was embarrassed to win as he never entered the competition himself, and was against winning prizes with pictures of people starving to death.

And of course the afghan girl, picture shot by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry. Sharbat Gula was one of the students in an informal school within the refugee camp; McCurry, rarely given the opportunity to photograph Afghan women, seized the opportunity and captured her image. She was approximately 12 years old at the time. She made it on the cover of National Geographic next year, and her identity was discovered in 1992.

Sichuan Earthquake

A man is crying while he flips through a family album he found in the rubbles of his old house.

As a designer, you can never have too many fonts. The projects are way too diverse, and the supply is massive: this makes it easy to always use new fonts. Handwritten, more rough fonts have been the center of attention in the past months, but classic sans serif and modern, yet bold fonts are in demand as well.

While we already checked if the fonts are also free to use for commercial use, you should still always double check that yourself. When in doubt, ask the originator.

Simple screenshots or flat graphics don’t sell well. Today, it takes flashier presentations. Your web design displayed on a current Apple product, your framed poster on the wall. Now, we barely have the time to make every project accordingly appealing. Here’s where turnkey mockups come into play, allowing you to stage your graphics with a single click.

I recommend double-checking the respective license before starting a project with a specific mockup. We did that already, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Now have fun browsing!

Do you know Mondrian? You’ll probably say no. But that’s unlikely. At least his art style will seem familiar. Take a look.

The Name Giver: Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter, and inventor of the neoplasticism, an art form that he assigned a near-religious status to. Mondrian was one of the founders of abstract painting and inspired people like Walter Gropius to the invention of the world famous Bauhaus architecture style.

I’m sure you’ve seen Mondrian’s mosaic-like paintings before. This creation is called “Composition with Red, Yellow, Blue, and Black” and was made in 1921.

Piet Mondrian [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsFrom the early twenties to his death in 1944, Mondrian has been dedicated to the focus on primary colors and clear lines. His design vocabulary inspires artists and architects to this day.

Mosaic as a Design Grid

Mosaic-like design grids are not only suitable for architecture, as a mosaic also allows for the best possible usage of the given space of rectangular media, like screens. Thus, it’s no surprise that screen designers take inspiration from the Dutch neoplasticist.

The concept of different tessellation of the screen was first adopted by Microsoft for its mobile operating system and was then used for the desktop version as well. Metro-Design, later renamed to Modern Design, represented a user interface set up as a mosaic. The larger the tile of the respective interaction, the higher its importance for the user, or the functionality in general.

Heavy color contrasts between the individual tiles were not an uncommon occurrence. However, in contrast to Mondrian, this was not a necessary component of the concept.

Mondrianism as a Design Style

There’s no need to elaborate further on why Mondrian’s structure concept is a good choice for website design. Especially in times of responsive websites, and the CSS box model, as well as features like Flexbox, andCSS Grid, the mosaic is almost the logical design model.

Now, if we connect tile designs with animations, which can be easily isolated in zoned screen areas, we can create some impressive layouts.

On Dribbble, tons of designers show what that can look like. All shown examples were posted in December 2017.

Same procedure as last year, Ms. Sophie. Media reports the presentation of Pantone’s color of the year of 2018. Again, this is not much more than a free advertisement, with the practical use remaining uncertain.

Pantone: Color Veteran From the USA

Pantone has been around since the middle of the last century. Their primary business is the development of print colors, and selling the respective color palettes, color charts, and other tools. The company does not produce ink itself. This is left for the ink producers, who mix the colors using recipes from the color charts.

Special Colors vs. Process Colors

Why should I work with special colors, like the ones of Pantone, if I can define every color via CMYK, the so-called process colors, is what you might ask yourself. The answer is only simple if we take a look at printmaking.

Let’s assume you wanted to use a color similar to the current Pantone color of the year 2018, which is a light purple, in a print project. In that case, the CMYK value would look somewhat like this: C72 M82 Y0 K0. This means that the printer would have to add cyan and magenta to his machine. Looking at the prices, this gives you a two-color print, as the print passes through the device twice.

Pantone’s Color of the Year 2018: Tools for Graphic Designers (Photo: Pantone)

If you were to choose the Pantone color 18-3838 ultraviolet, it would be a one color print, which makes a big difference regarding prices.

The function of Pantone as a communication system is significant as well. In contrast to CMYK, Pantone (and HKS) makes sure that the desired color is printed to look exactly like the selected color. This allows for precise communication of specific colors between project members. An 18-3838 in Europe looks just like an 18-3838 in the USA.

How Pantone Defines Its Colors

To assure that, Pantone does not define the colors independently from the medium. Thus, there are different color charts and letter additions to the individual colors. A C after the color number means that the described color will look as depicted on coated media only. Apart from that, Pantone also distinguishes between U (uncoated), and M (matte).

In contrast to the four process colors of the CMYK system, the Pantone system differentiates more than 1,700 colors, made up from the mixture of 18 primary colors. This results in a considerable amount of required charts, and other color helper tools, which is how Pantone survives.

Pantone’s Business Model: New Colors, Lots of Buzz

Now that we know that, it is easy to tell what Pantone’s best way of keeping their business alive is. Exactly, it has to continue developing new colors and creating demand for these. If there’s demand for new colors, the creative branch needs new charts and other tools to use them.

Just look at Pantone’s prices, and you’ll realize that this is a lucrative business. The charts for the color of the year 2018 alone will cost customers 180 Euro. At Pantone, there is nothing available for less than 100 Euro. It’s no surprise that used Pantone tools are a flourishing market on eBay. The business is not only known amongst graphic designers. Pantone can also be found in the world of fashion, architecture, the packaging industry, and anywhere else where printing is needed.

The Color of the Year is a Marketing Coup

By the way, the color of the year is a somewhat new marketing gag of the USA-based color experts. Only in the year 2000, half a century after the business inception, they got the idea to present a color of the year to the world. As humans are like sheep, and Pantone is an established brand, this approach paid off right away. Since then, the Pantone system has grown significantly.

In my opinion, the purpose of the color of the year is solely that of keeping up the dominance of the Pantone system. Essentially, the declaration is nothing more than a different kind of advertisement, which works exceptionally well, looking at this year’s reports on it.

Intellectual Substructure of a Hollywood Facade

Of course, it takes some intellectual talk not to be exposed as a marketing freak right away. Because of that, it is no surprise that Leatrice Eiseman, executive director at the Pantone Color Institute, had the following to say:

“We are living in a time that requires inventiveness and imagination. It is this kind of creative inspiration that is indigenous to PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet, a blue-based purple that takes our awareness and potential to a higher level. From exploring new technologies and the greater galaxy, to artistic expression and spiritual reflection, intuitive Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come.”

And Laurie Pressman, vice president of the same institute seconds:

“The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today.”

Yeah, right! This obviously sounds much better than a simple appeal like: “Buy this product, because we want your money.”

The stubborn intellectuality in this presentation of something dead simple like a color is supposed to turn a color chart developer into some savior for an entire species. While this might be a legitimate approach on behalf of Pantone, I am astonished that this is still widely accepted without any further reflection.

Digging through articles on web design trends is one thing. But finding inspiration in the wild is an entirely different matter. We have compiled eight sources of real-life inspiration for you.

It is easy to find articles on web design trends. Almost all design magazines put out at least one each year, including us. These articles cover recent design trends and prove them with one or two screenshots.

Finding real examples of good web design is a lot harder. You can’t just search for appropriate offers on Google, where they sit and wait for you to find them. Fortunately, there are friendly people out there who put in the effort to collect, evaluate and present contemporary designs.

In the following article, we will introduce you to eight of those inspiration sources.

siteInspire

siteInspire has been around for eight years already. The large portfolio contains over 6,300 pages. All entries were evaluated and selected for publication manually. Although anyone can hand in suggestions, the collection is growing slowly. By their own account, out of over 200 submissions a day, the editorial team only selects the ones that stretch the limits of visual, and interaction design as much as possible. This doesn’t mean that the featured pages have to be exceptionally pretty. At the moment, there are even a few brutalist designs.

You can subscribe to siteInspire as an RSS feed. In addition to that, there are the indispensable social media profiles on Twitter and Facebook.

CSS Nectar

CSS Nectar also collects community suggestions, but only rates them regarding the factors design, coding, and creativity, allowing users to vote as well. Every day, one site is declared “Site of the day.”

The fact that submissions are only accepted for a fee of five USD is a bit of a downer. CSS Nectar does promise a refund if the suggestion is not included. However, I can imagine that the motivation to prompt refunds is equally low on both sides. Put differently: it is questionable if what you get to see here really are the “best of.”

Nonetheless, the gallery is useful for the quick inspiration on the go, as the bees of CSS Nectar definitely have a few beautiful designs to offer. By the way, the CSS in the name does not mean that the shown designs were great examples of CSS usage.

InspirationUI

InspirationUI is designed to be a showcase as well. However, here, individual elements of the user interface are featured, rather than entire websites. The elements can be sorted by their purpose, allowing you to look at all notification suggestions, all 404s, all price charts, and dozens of other patterns. The operator makes sure that the submissions come from projects that actually exist. Thus, you shouldn’t find any Dribbble lalaland.

Httpster

Over at Httpster, you’ll find web designs that merely look good. Here, a clean technological realization is not the primary focus. If it looks great, chances are the site ends up on Httpster. The operators make no secret of that either. Anyone can submit. The submitter doesn’t even have to be the originator of the website.

In many cases, Httpster shows more than one of the website’s pages in the detail view of the feature. This gives you a good idea of the look. Tags are used for categorization which allows you to switch back and forth in the portfolio associatively. If you can’t generate ideas here, you can’t do it anywhere.

Freebiesbug

Freebiesbug collects free design elements for graphic and web designers. The difference to other, similar services is the fact that Freebiesbug is curated manually. Of course, the technical, but also the subjective taste is a factor. Nonetheless, the approach is still better than simply offering everything with the label “freebie.” Freebies may only be submitted by their originators.

SiteSee

SiteSee also displays attractive, modern, manually curated websites, but anyone is allowed to submit. The included designs are represented by a screenshot. A click on this screenshot leads directly to the original URL. There are no descriptions, ratings, or anything similar.

Nonetheless, SiteSee is still second to none in some cases. On SiteSee, you can filter for some criteria that others don’t offer. For example, you could filter by dominating colors. This is good if you already know which color will dominate your design, which is the case for most corporate orders. You also get to filter by the website’s categories, for instance, if the design was made for an event, product, an agency, or something else. This allows you to see how other people approached the same task.

SiteSee’s collection feature is unique as well. This way, you and the other visitors can create collections, that only deal with specific topics. These collections can be published, too. You’ll find collections like “Pink Backgrounds,” or “Dark Portfolios.” This is what truly apposite inspiration looks like.

One Page Love

As you might have guessed, One Page Love deals with one-pagers, websites that consist of a single page. One Page Love has been a thing for almost ten years so that it might be partially responsible for the increasing popularity of this website type. Either way, the portfolio is filled to the brim. Every website is displayed in its entirety, as a long scroll screenshot. The designs can be sorted by categories and features.

Aside from the web design collection, the operators also curate templates for the creation of one-pagers. Some of them are free, and others are charged. Submissions to One Page Love cost different amounts of money, depending on the submitter’s aim.

Web Creme

Web Creme is twelve years old, so it can almost be considered a part of the web’s bedrock. Web Creme cares about the creative part of web design. The aspiration is to provide the best, and most creative designs on the web. The goal is to inspire the visitor, giving him quick ideas.

Compared to fresher services like Httpster, or SiteSee, Web Creme almost seems antiquated, or let’s call it conventional. The service’s design was more up to date in the mid-noughties, than it is now. This does not derogate from the displayed pages, however. Here, you’ll definitely find some fresh inspirational material. On the left, next to the designs, the dominant colors are displayed. A click on the colors gives you an overview of all designs that have said color as a dominant one. The function does not have much use value, though. Anyone can submit suggestions using the contact form.

Conclusion: With These Services, You Are Well-Equipped

The presented services should be able to loosen your creative blocks, bringing the flow of ideas back to life. The different focuses of the presented services are especially helpful in covering a rather large bandwidth of possible application cases.

Did we miss any important contact points? Feel free to let us know in the comments.

Good Web Design is a service dedicated to collecting the best landing pages. Not limited to that, the developers also focus on details, such as the best navigation bars, or the best CTA.

We all know curated screenshot collections of modern designs. They are a dime a dozen. Unfortunately, a lot of them have suffered from their creator’s disinclination, and don’t add any new designs, or add anything the users hand in. Eldorado for link builders.

Good Web Design: Navigation Bars

Good Web Design pursues a different approach. Firstly, the creators, Charlie Feng and Yitong Zhang, didn’t get bored of it yet, allowing you to continuously find freshly curated pages. Furthermore, the two operators don’t restrict themselves to the display of landing pages as a whole but also present more specific best practices, like the best CTA, the best FAQ, or the best navigation bars.

Good Web Design: Fullscreen Preview

The service itself has a modern design, and the controls are intuitive. You can either display all entries chronologically or filter by keywords. The overview can be shown as a grid or as a list. Clicking an element opens it in a fullscreen view, but it’s not a link to the original. This way, they make sure that the example presented as a best practice cannot be made nonsense of by potential changes to the original. The link to the source can be found on the bottom right of the preview in the grid and list view, behind the word “Source.”

Aside from the option to filter individual topics using the upper navigation bar, you can use the tags of the respective preview at any time during surfing, allowing you to move through the supply associatively.

Design is not only about taste. Good design can be constructed, not just invented. The new service Hixle helps you do that.

Inspiration is Not Cheap

Inspiration itself is a good thing. But, just seeing a pretty screenshot of an app or website won’t actually do much for you. Inspiration wants to be fed more precisely.

Which tools did the designer work with? Which fonts did he use? What kind of color gradient is this? Which dominant colors, which color palette is this design based on?

Use this information to create a blueprint for you to use for your next project.

Hixle Gives You Blueprints for Your Ideas

The new service Hixle provides you with help regarding just that. Thus, it’s no surprise that Hixle’s inventor has the goal to turn the service into some starter kit for new projects. Here, Hixle is even meant to consider cultural differences. For instance, a future search query could be: “Show me the colors most US-Americans associate with joy and satisfaction. There’s no denying that this would be a great thing.

Hixle: Landing Page

As of right now, Hixle is a small but neat project, based on a WordPress installation, and it is curated manually. Hixle’s creator, the London-based product designer Balraj Chana, plans to make the project open to designers, allowing the portfolio to expand faster. Of course, Design is always a question of taste, too. In that aspect, not everyone will agree with Chana’s selection.

Currently, Hixle offers different approaches to get the desired inspiration. Access displays of entire projects from the landing page. After clicking one of the thumbnails, a modal window with detailed information on the project pops up. The information includes the used fonts, and tools, as long as Chana can make it available. He mainly relies on source code analyses for that. The dominant colors, for example, are extracted from the CSS.

Hixle: Detailed Information

Palettes, Gradients, Fonts, and Tools for Your Next Project

Aside from this rather global approach, Hixle also provides direct access to palettes, gradients, fonts, and tools. The way of accessing them is always the same. All elements are visualized as a grid. You hover over this grid and click one of the elements that you’re interested in, opening a modal window with further details. Here, you’ll find out the hex values of the color palettes and gradients, which you won’t see in the project overview. Access the source of the respective tool, font, etc. from the modal.

Hixle: Collection of Palettes, Gradients, and More.

Every listed element can be shared via your social media channels, like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. An upvote system lets you make sure that your favorites get the attention you think they deserve. Participating is simple, but not for everyone. The only way to sign up is using Twitter or Facebook OAuth. The benefit: it’s done super fast ;-)

Conclusion: Hixle is Worth a Bookmark

Hixle has potential. Especially when the project succeeds in gaining further contributors, the service can turn into a real source of inspiration. If you’re not a fan of the authentification, don’t do it. All you’re missing out on is the participation in the voting.

Pixels is a steadily growing collection of current website designs. The service’s purpose is being an inspiration, and it keeps its promise to get you to new ideas very quickly.

Creativity Also Depends on the Goal

Getting creative ideas is not always that simple. Of course, there are cases where I get a sense of how the presence might look like during the first conversation with a client. In most cases, however, that doesn’t happen. And that’s no surprise. Recently, I was dealing with a producer of toilet lid retainers. They don’t produce toilet lids, but the hinges that keep the lid attached to the toilet. An acid test for creative workers.

There’s no Such Thing as Enough Inspiration

Thus, I’ve been taking good care of my design collection. Last weekend, I was able to add another source of inspiration; the Swedish project Pixels. The operator of the project developed Pixels as a side project to its paid bookmark service for designers called Klart, and thus, he adds his bookmarks as inspiration in Pixels.

Pixels: Shuffle Large Webdesign Previews

The project’s approach is very straightforward. The screenshots are displayed in a grid. A click on the blank key allows you to randomize the order. However, there are no search functions, and no categorizations, or other sorting functions.

That’s not the service’s task, though. Pixels only wants to feed you ideas. Thus, it’s a good thing that you can’t limit the selection in advance.

If you like a design’s preview, click it, and you’ll see it in a modal window that almost fills the entire screen. At the bottom left, the dominant colors of the displayed website are listed. In the bottom right, there’s the option to tweet the design, or save it in Pinterest, as well as to access the website directly. The displayed color palette shows the respective hex values, which you can copy to the clipboard via click.

The shuffle function especially has already gotten me several ideas. Of course, Pixels shouldn’t be considered a standalone tool, or savior for those searching inspiration. But as a part of your toolbox, you should definitely consider using the service when the next toilet lid retainer producer wants you to design their website.